Bible Strands
Matthew 9:17
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses His disciples regarding fasting practices while ministering in Galilee. He delivers the statement during a period where He actively redefines religious observance.
The words — ἀσκοὺς (askous) translates literally to "wineskins," and παλαιοῖς (palaiois) means "old." The text uses these terms to describe a specific agricultural practice.
The thread — Wineskins function as vessels in Joshua 9:4, Job 32:19, and Psalm 119:83. Each reference tracks the physical properties of the container in relation to pressure, age, or preservation.
Why it lands — The text states that old skins rupture when holding new wine, while new skins preserve both contents. A reader must apply this to recognize that incompatible structures cannot contain new realities without mutual destruction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
Cross-references
- Joshua 9:4 acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
- Job 32:19 Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin.
- Psalms 119:83 Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.